Angularly displaced guider for suction box spreader



B. A. BUSS April 8, 1969 ANGULARLY DISPLACED GUIDER FOR SUCTION BOX SPREADER Sheet Filed Sept. 6, 1967 FIG.

U. R B w 2 Wm mm %m m m 3 6 Cl B. A. BUSS April 8, 1969 ANGULARLY DISPLACED GUIDER FOR SUCTION BOX SPREADER Filed Sept. 1967 Sheet 5 of2 630' a 000%M 000 N AINV ENTOR Be/ z amm Afiuss ATTORNEYS U.S. Cl. 38-143 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A smoothing attachment for a flatwork ironer wherein an inclined feed plate has pairs of divergent slots with a suction being applied through the slots as flatwork is fed over the plate so that the flatwork is urged laterally outwardly to straighten the flatwork before entering the ironer.

The present invention relates to a smoothing attachment for a flatwork ironer and more particularly to an arrangement of inclined slots positioned on the feed plate with suction being applied through said slots as flatwork passes thereover.

The industrial and institutional laundry flatwork ironers used for ironing sheets and similar articles generally comprise a plurality of ironing rolls arranged to provide an ironing surface of substantial area. An entry feed roll is positioned forwardly of the ironing roll to facilitate introduction of flatwork into the ironer. An inclined feed plate is positioned forwardly of the feed roll over which the flatwork is moved to enter the feed roll. After the leading edge of the flatwork passes over the feed plate and is engaged by the foremost ironing roll, the action of the ironer will pull the flatwork piece into the ironer for its entire length. However, after the leading edge of the flatwork has been engaged by the foremost ironing roll, it is still necessary for two operators who are feeding the ironer to tug and pull the lateral edges of the flatwork to remove any wrinkles or folds in the flatwork as it is being drawn into the ironer roll. This operation considerably limits the ironing production of the ironer since the two operators must continue to handle each piece of flatwork until its trailing end has moved into the ironer. Only then is it possible for the operators to take the next flatwork piece and position it on the feed plate. In addition, the pulling of the flatwork by hand does not produce a uniform pulling action along the longitudinal axis of the flatwork.

Many forms of apparatus have been devised in an attempt to mechanically and automatically smooth the flatwork prior to the entry of the flatwork into the ironer. Such forms of apparatus have generally comprised complex attachments mounted either on the feed plate or immediately prior to the feed plate. These arrangements have been generally unsatisfactory since they are either unreliable in operation or do not produce a wrinkle-free flatwork piece prior to entry of the flatwork into the ironer roll.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improved smoothing attachment for a flatwork ironer.

Another object of the invention is to provide a smoothing attachment which will apply a uniform tension along the longitudinal axis of the flatwork before the flatwork is introduced into the ironer roll.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a smoothing attachment for a flatwork ironer which employs suction and does not depend upon moving parts.

The smoothing attachment according to the present invention is particularly intended to be employed with a flatwork ironer having an entry feed roll at the entrance nited States Patent to the ironer roll. In one aspect of the smoothing attachment, there may be provided an inclined feed plate below and forwardly of the entry feed roll and extending transversely to the direction of movement of flatwork entering the ironer. An elongated pattern of perforations is pro vided in the upper central portion of the feed plate, with the pattern extending substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the flatwork. A number of slots are formed in the feed plate on each side of the central portion. The slots are positioned divergent to the direction of movement of the flatwork, the upper ends of the slots on each side of the central portion being inclined away from the central portion toward the outer lateral edges of the feed plate. Means, which may be in the form of a vacuum spreader box, are positioned on the inner side of the feed plate for applying a suction through the perforations and slots.

Thus, asthe flatwork is moved over the feed plate toward the feed roll, the suction acting through the inclined slots will urge the flatwork laterally outwardly so as to straighten the flatwork before it is fed to the entry roll.

Other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent upon reference to the following description and accompanying drawings which are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the forward or entry end of a flatwork ironer showing the flatwork passing over the inclined feed plate in which is incorporated the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view taken in the direction of arrows 2-2, with a portion of the flatwork piece cut away for purposes of clarity; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2 showing the conformation of the inclined slots.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate the same parts throughout the various views, one specific embodiment which the present invention may take will be described in detail.

The smoothing attachment of the present invention is incorporated in .a laundry flatwork ironer generally indicated at 10 (FIG. 1) and comprises a feed apron 11 which is in the form. of a endless web passing over a main feed roller 12 to enter between forward finger rolls 13a and 13b. A second continuous web 11a passes over the upper roll 13a so that the-flatwork indicated at 20 which is to be ironedpasses between the two endless webs 11 and 11a to the ironer rolls.

Positioned forwardly of the main feed roll is an inclined feed apron or plate 14 which, as seen in FIG. 2, is of substantially an elongated rectangular shape and extends across the width of the ironer. The inclined feed plate 14 is preferably of stainless steel with its outer surface highly polished to facilitate the passage of flatwork thereover.

The feed plate 14 is mounted on a vacuum spreader box 15 which has a substantially trapezoidal cross section and is connected through conduit 16 to a suction fan 17 which may be driven by an electric fan motor.

The smoothing attachment according to the present invention is formed in the outer face 22 of the feed plate and comprises a substantially rectangular pattern of perforations 23 located in the upper central portion of feed plate 22, as seen in FIG. 2. A plurality of inclined slots 24 are positioned on each side of the perforations 23 and are inclined with respect to the direction of movement of the flatwork which is indicated by the arrows 25. The slots are aranged substantially in pairs and are divergent with respect to the direction of movement of the flatwork. Accordingly, the upper ends of the slots on each side of the central portion of the feed plate are inclined toward the lateral outer edges of the flatwork 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, an inclined lip 21 extends from the inner edge 28 of each slot with the lip extending outwardly and over the slot. With this arrangement, the opening 30 of the slot is directed outwardly toward the flatwork lateral edges. The slots may be inclined at an angle of about 30 degrees with respect to the direction of flatwork movement.

As the fiatwork 20, which may be in the form of a sheet, moves over feed plate 14, a suction is produced on the sheet through the perforations 23 and the slots 24. As may be seen ill FIG. 2, a component of force will be produced to the right on the sheet as it is pulled along the feed plate by the ironerroll. Because of the inclined or slanting position of the slots, this component of force tends to urge the sheet edge laterally outwardly to the right. On the le-fthand side of the centerline of the feed plate, the forces through the slots will urge the left half of the sheet toward the left marginal edge, since the slots on the left side of the feed plate are in clined outwardly toward the left lateral edge of the flatwork. The suction applied to the perforations 23 tends to maintain the sheet in a straight line as it travels over the feed plate.

It will be apparent that the lateral force on the flatwork will be uniform because this lateral force is exerted through the inclined slots by the suction acting upon the flatwork. Furthermore, the smooth surface of the feed plate and the edges of the lips projecting over the slots will facilitate the movement of the flatwork over the feed plate. It is thus apparent that once the leading edge of the fiatwork is introduced into the ironer rolls, the smoothing attachment on the feed plate will automatically smooth the flatwork as it travels over the feed plate without any assistance from the operators.

Thus, it can be seen that the present invention provides a simple yet effective arrangement for introducing smooth and wrinkle-free flatwork into the feed apron of a fiatwork ironer without any manipulation by the operators. The suction applied through the inclined slots may be either steady or pulsating, which may be efiected by a suitable and conventional control valve, not shown, associated with the suction fan so that suction within the vacuum spreader box will vary or fluctuate. In addition, the smoothing attachment merely requires modifications in existing feed plates and does not necessitate a vast complex of additional structure mounted on the ironer.

It is to be understood that changes can be made in the various details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a smoothing attachment for a flatwork ironer having an entry roll at the entrance to the ironer, the combination of an inclined feed plate below and forwardly of the entry feed roll and transverse to the direction of movement of flatwork entering the ironer, a plurality of pairs of slots in said feed plate on both sides of its central portion and divergent with respect to the direction of movement of said fiatwork, lips along the inner edges of said slots and extending upwardly and over the respective slots whereby the slot openings are directed outwardly toward the lateral edges of the feed plate, and means for applying suction to said slots as the fiatwork moves over said feed plate so that the flatwork is urged laterally outwardly by suction acting through said divergent slots and under said lips to straighten and stretch the flatwork laterally as it is fed through the entry roll.

2. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are perforations in the upper central portion of said feed plate and suction is applied thereto.

3. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein there are three slots on each side of said central portion.

4. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 2, wherein said perforations for-m a rectangular pattern extending transversely of said feed plate.

5. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 4, wherein the central longitudinal axis of said pattern of perforations is at substantially the same height as the upper ends of said slots.

6. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising a vacuum spreader box attached to the inner side of said feed plate and connected to a suction source.

7. In a smoothing attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said suction is pulsating.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,236,359 8/1917 Reynolds 38-143 X 3,145,491 8/1964 Mazzolla 38l43 3,315,385 4/1967 Taylor 38143 Re. 25,370 4/ 1963 Bazelmans 3 8--2 HERBERT F. ROSS, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 26-54 

